As the Bright Phoenix's Martial Soul Avatar completely enveloped the silver vortex, the experts who had followed Yan Shaozhe out of Sea God Island arrived one after another.
Their expressions changed when they saw flames spread across much of Shrek and outer court students lying scattered everywhere.
One man in white let out a long sigh. Seven Spirit Rings in the optimal configuration rose beneath him. He raised both hands, and a soft green light bloomed from his palms as his ink-black Seventh Soul Ring lit up.
In an instant, he became a lush green tree.
His Martial Soul Avatar: the Tree of Life.
A breeze seemed to stir. Leaves drifted from the tree's crown and entered the bodies of every student caught in the disaster at Shrek Square.
Jiang Yu felt a cool sensation wash over him. A surge of vitality entered his body, temporarily suppressing the internal injuries caused by the Soul-Destroying Cannon's recoil.
"Jiang Yu, how are you?"
Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who had withdrawn some distance earlier, hurried over and supported Jiang Yu from either side. Worry filled their strikingly different faces.
Jiang Yu waved them off, took out two Healing Pills, and swallowed them.
As the medicine took effect, some color returned to his pale face. Only then did he speak.
"It's nothing serious. I'll just need some time to recover from the internal injuries."
"That's good." Ning Tian relaxed a little.
She had allowed Jiang Yu to retaliate because she trusted his physical resilience.
Just then, another clear phoenix cry rang out. The Bright Phoenix, whose wingspan exceeded a hundred meters, soared upward. The golden flames suspended in the air slowly descended, purifying every trace of the clinging Evil Fire.
When the Bright Phoenix vanished, the three looked up. An elderly man with refined features and a gentle bearing stood in midair, his brow deeply furrowed as he swept a grim gaze across the scene.
Then he vanished. When he reappeared, he was standing before the three of them.
"Which family are you from? Don't you know large-scale destructive Soul Tools are forbidden in the academy's public areas?"
Jiang Yu and the others froze at Yan Shaozhe's accusation. Their expressions turned cold.
"Dean Yan, a student from your Inner Court lost control, came out, and attacked us for no reason. Were we, the ones who'd done nothing wrong, supposed to sit there and wait to die?"
Before Jiang Yu could speak, Ning Tian stepped forward and met Yan Shaozhe's eyes without fear.
Yan Shaozhe was visibly at a loss for words.
He knew full well the fault lay entirely with them. But Ma Xiaotao's loss of control had injured more than a hundred outer court students and caused an uproar. If he did not shift some of the blame, what would become of the Inner Court's reputation?
And how was Ma Xiaotao supposed to remain at the academy afterward?
Softening his tone a little, Yan Shaozhe continued.
"I'm not saying you shouldn't have fought back, but your response was... rather frightening. Do you realize that if I hadn't arrived in time, that blast could have reduced most of the Inner Court to ruins? How many innocent people would have been killed or injured then?"
Jiang Yu snorted. "I don't care how many people might have been hurt. What I know is that an Inner Court student who appeared to have become an Evil Soul Master rushed into the outer court and started slaughtering people, yet not one Shrek Academy teacher stepped in to stop her in time. We fought back to keep that Evil Soul Master from leaving Shrek Academy and harming civilians."
"Who are you calling an Evil Soul Master? Do you know that woman is my personal disciple? How could she possibly be one?"
Yan Shaozhe's gaze faltered before he spoke in a low voice.
"Dean Yan... no, Bright Phoenix Douluo. I respect you as a senior, so I won't put this too harshly. But if that monster wasn't an Evil Soul Master, what does a real Evil Soul Master look like?"
"Ask any of the outer court teachers and students who saw what happened whether they think your disciple is an Evil Soul Master. Or I could spread word of today's events across the continent and let the world decide who was in the wrong."
Jiang Yu had lost all goodwill toward Yan Shaozhe and could no longer be bothered to address him respectfully.
A rotten roof made for rotten rafters. Shrek Academy was living proof.
"What a sharp-tongued brat. Are you threatening me and Shrek Academy?"
Yan Shaozhe laughed in fury.
He was the dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, a rank ninety-five Super Douluo, yet a youngster who had only reached the Soul Elder Realm dared to scorn and threaten him.
"Bright Phoenix Douluo, stop twisting right and wrong to shirk responsibility. Your lack of accountability is disgraceful. Shrek Academy must answer to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for what happened today."
After a pause, Ning Tian added coolly.
"I've already informed the sect. My great-grandmother and the sect's elders should arrive at Shrek Academy within days. When they do, Dean Yan, you can speak to them on behalf of the Sea God Pavilion."
"The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Yan Shaozhe started. The anger on his face vanished, replaced by uncertainty.
"You three are the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's specially admitted students this year?"
"Obviously. Do you think anyone would be stupid enough to impersonate us?" Wu Feng snapped.
Yan Shaozhe's heart sank.
Their Soul Tools and bearing had told him they came from distinguished backgrounds, but he had never imagined they were from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Though the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was no longer as prosperous as it had been ten thousand years ago, it was still a formidable power, strong enough to rank among the continent's top ten sects.
And while it appeared to have declined, any force that had endured for over ten thousand years was bound to have hidden reserves. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's ancestors had even produced a god!
Even setting that aside, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had long been a vital business partner to Shrek Academy.
Shrek City collected only a few hundred million Gold Soul Coins in taxes each year.
That sounded like a fortune, but the cost of Shrek City's defenses and public security, along with the Soul Beast Fighting Zone, Soul Fighting Zone, and countless other facilities across the academy's inner and outer campuses, was astronomical. A few hundred million Gold Soul Coins could not keep such a vast institution running smoothly.
Even heroes needed money. The saying was no empty warning.
Because of its enormous need for funds, Shrek Academy had partnered with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the continent's most adept money-makers, several thousand years earlier. Together they had formed a trading consortium that conducted all kinds of business across the continent.
Even after splitting the profits evenly, Shrek Academy received more Gold Soul Coins from the consortium than it did from its annual taxes.
The consortium it had built with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect controlled nearly half of Shrek Academy's financial lifeline!
Yet his disciple had nearly killed the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's next Sect Master and a future Douluo who would protect the sect. And after she had nearly severed the sect's line of succession, he had tried to dodge responsibility...
Nothing could have been more infuriating or disheartening.
If the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's leaders cut ties with Shrek Academy over this, the commercial empire the two sides had built over thousands of years would collapse. Shrek Academy's finances might not fail outright, but they would certainly become strained again.
At the thought, Yan Shaozhe was filled with regret and dismay.
Xiaotao, Xiaotao. We've brought a disaster down on the academy this time.
As Yan Shaozhe pondered, an aged voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
He paused at what he heard, then spoke slowly.
"So you're from the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I was rash today. Since Senior Ling Huan is coming to the academy, we would naturally welcome her. Come back to Sea God Island with me. The academy will be sure to give you an explanation you find satisfactory."
Jiang Yu and the others exchanged glances, a trace of mockery in their eyes.
Arrogant one moment, deferential the next. What a joke.
Yan Shaozhe noticed their expressions, but knowing he was in the wrong, he said nothing. He merely waved a hand before turning to the Tree of Life Soul Sage, whose eyes were also full of surprise.
"Teacher Zhuang, tell their homeroom teacher these three need three days off."
Teacher Zhuang nodded. After handing the unconscious Ma Xiaotao over to Yan Shaozhe, he drifted away like a passing breeze.
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